Korean Job Discussion Forums

[purple_buddha]

I'm looking for a reputable MA, MS or M.Ed. degree program in education (e.g., education technology, curriculum development/planning, adult education, or educational administration) that would lead to legitimate employment opportunities in the US. (I'm trying to avoid taking 1-2 years and doing the on-campus routine, which would cost a ton of money in lost income and tuition/fees/living expenses.)

Although there are a number of decent online graduate degree programs offered in Australia and the UK, my fear is that they wouldn't be recognised in the states. Sadly, a lot of quality online/distance learning graduate level diplomas earned at top-notch US colleges and universities aren't well received by many American employers either. (It would be tragic and foolish to invest over 10,000 or 15,000 USD minimum on an online diploma that might not have any potential market value in the US.)

If I'm wrong on this, or if anyone has had personal experience to the contrary, please feel free to comment.

[susmin]

I got my master's degree from Nova Southeastern University based in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. They have a great distance learning program, as well as a real campus (not just an electronic university). If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

[SeniorEnglish]

I think it's a rip off to pay the same to do the degree online as attending in person. I mean you pay 10,000 give or take, but you don't use university facilities. I would sign up for a good program if they gave a good discount for distance education.

[susmin]

I do not think you will find a discount, at least in my research I have never seen one. I looked at many different programs when I was trying to decide what to do. I found the university because it was recommended by several school districts for their teachers to get advanced degrees. Nova Southeastern University is pretty reasonable as it is. I did not have a problem with it. I got the same degree as I would have if I had been on the campus. We had regularly scheduled chats with the professors. I used the online library for my research which had everything I needed. Ther professors graded all of our papers (and their were many). It worked out very well for me, although I had to work my butt off. It did enable to stay in Korea and earn the money to pay for it so I was able to get my degree with no debt.

[SeniorEnglish]

It may depend on the type of degree you get. As for mine, I enjoyed the classroom discussions and the atmosphere.

[susmin]

I am not knocking on campus programs. They are great and certainly the face to face contact is a benefit. If you are wanting to be able to save the money and keep working regular hours distance learning is great.

Also, I do not know about other degress but as far as education is concerned more and more school districts are very accepting of distance programs and do not look at them any differently. I am working as a teacher with full certification (after taking the PRAXIS of course) and am paid for my master's degree.

[purple_buddha]

I suppose, if a program is accredited and even ranks in the top 20 or so nationwide, it shouldn't matter that it's online. I don't believe that the diploma would distinguish whether or not it was earned online or on campus.

Anyone aware of an accredited US program that doesn't require the GRE? The test's only offered once a year in Korea (paper version for 175 USD); and, starting next year, it'll be a seven hour affair.

[HapKi]

I received my MA in TESL/TEFL from the University of Birmingham (England), in their distance program. The diploma is identical to those who studied on campus.

[ThePoet]

Several schools are accredited and reputable and offer online or distance programs (there is a difference between the terms distance program and online program).

Research into this will provide you with names of several dozen universities that are campus based and offer equivalent masters degrees via distance. Some of them that come quickly to mind are:

University of Calgary
Pennsylvania State University
University of Waterloo
Nova Southeastern
Pepperdine
Walden State
Birmingham University
University of Sheffield-Hallam
University of South Africa

Other universities which specialize in Online studies are very diverse. I will not name them all but I will mention a few I am strongly familiar with:

Athabasca university (I received my Master of Distance Education - 2002). An excellent university and the EMBA is ranked one of the highest in the world. go to www.athabascau.ca

Northcentral University (I am currently taking my Ph.D. in Educational Technology Management through them. There are no residency requirements for the Ph.D. program unlke most other distance programs) They have several Masters programs, or you can skip the masters and take an 81 credit Doctoral program. www.ncu.edu

Royal Roads university www.royalroads.ca
Regents University
Capella University

For a huge list of accredited, reputable distance programs, go to the following sites:

www.bain4weeks.com/mastermenu.html
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Haven/2386/distance.html


As for distance program acceptability to employers and for career advancement. Many employers are ok with distance programs, and in fact look upon them more favorably because it demonstrates you work hard (maintaining a job AND going to university AND juggling family life in that). It also demonstrates (in the case of an online degree) that you have a certain amount of technical savvy.

Others employers, who are old fashioned, may see your degree (if it is listed as an online degree - many universities do not make that distinction on their parchments anymore) as being from a diploma mill. For instance, it does not matter how reputable the university, if you get your degree via distance, it is not accepted by Taiwan for employability at their universities.

Your best bet is to do the following steps:

1. Decide the type of employment you will look for post-masters.

2. Research the types of employers you will be applying to. Find their HR department and write a letter asking about the hiring policies regarding distance vs. traditional degrees, and they may also be able to tell you the number of emplyees who received distance degrees.

3. Develop a list of accredited programs based on those responses. As has been already pointed out, there are several brick and mortar schools that offer distance programs and the distinction is not mentioned on parchment or transcript.

4 Decide which Universities you will apply to.

5. Apply

Hope that is helpful,

Poet

[Thiuda]

I completed the MA in Applied Linguistics at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia (www.une.edu.au). I was very happy with the programme and learned a tremendous amount. Following completion of the program, I was able to walk into a good job at a Korean university, and have been assured by two western universities that it is a sufficient qualification to commence Ph.D. level studies.

Studying at the MA level was not always easy, though always rewarding. During the course of the MA, I typed almost 80.000 words (collated all documents and then used Word to do a word count), so I feel I did no less work than a student might in a residential programme.

Also, UNE is a traditional university that offers distance learning programmes, not a wholly online one. I was able to call people and talk to them, I was able to electronically check out books from the library and receive them just three days later in the mail, and, the diploma nor the transcripts make any mention of the delivery method. I even received a student card that has, on occasion, proved useful in securing discounts while travelling!

Finally, UNE is an accredited institution in the US.

If anyone has any further questions I'll be happy to answer them.

Cheers,

Thiuda

[laogaiguk]

[jules128]

Can anyone recommend an online/distance bachelor's program? Me and husband are planning to come to Korea around January and he'd like to begin studying while we're in Korea. Are there inexpensive and credible options in Korea or online? To study online at a US university, even if it' sonline do you still need a visa? I tried looking at University of Maryland, University College because I know they have online BA programs but it seems if you're not a US citizen or resident that you will still need a visa even if you're not located in the US. Does anyone know about this?

I was also interested in an online/distance MA in Applied Linguistics program but wasn't sure what route to go or what school. I know that any masters program is intensive but can anyone comment on the workload and the costs? Thanks!

[jellobean]

University of Massachusetts has on online MA in Applied Linguistics, but it does require atttendance at 2 summer seminars so I'm not sure if that will work. It looked like a really good program when I was looking around for programs for my bf.

Also, for the op, I'm currently getting an MA in Ed. from Walden University which is completely online. It is recognized in all US states except Massachusetts and North Dakota. The school is completely online, but is generally well respected in the education community (both my educator parents had only good things to say). Many Department of Defense Overseas teacher use it as well as international school teachers. It doesn't have a student teaching component, however, so its a little harder to get the initial certifications from the state. You need a teacher prep program for that and those aren't usually MA programs and aren't usually online. I got my original teaching license from Massachusetts by passing a test. (A friend of mine flew to LA from Korea last year to do the same test and is now teaching in Shanghai). It's good for 5 years, but I won't be able to renew it because they don't recognize my grad program. I'm going to get around that by taking the tests in Arizona and then applying to transfer my current license since Arizona has good transfer rules and will accept my degree. One other note, I have a slightly more complicated case since I have a license in a subject in which I don't have a major.

[susmin]

Nova Southeastern University has undergraduate programs as well.

[The Chewbacca Defense]

I am doing my Master of Applied Linguistics through the University of New England (UNE). I'm sorry for those who have had issues with their program, but myself and several of my colleagues who are also doing to the MAAL are more than happy with it.

I find the units interesting and really worthwhile. I haven't any problems with the adminstration (knock on wood) to date.